CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington volleyball battled tough against Weber State on Friday night at Reese Court, showing stretches of strong play before falling in straight sets (20–25, 15–25, 23–25). The Eagles rallied late in the third set to close the gap but couldn't quite complete the comeback.
"I feel like I'm a broken record here where I come in and get a chance to express some things, and it's like we're always making some really good strides and just coming up a little bit short," said Head Coach
Jon Haruguchi. "Again, that's kind of the story of today, but I'm real proud of how we fought throughout this match. I thought we did some really, really nice things—you know, we had a really nice standout performance from Cassie here, and she's been working a lot in practice, so it's really nice to see that come through in a match."
Offensively, the Eagles were led by
Kalista Lukovich with 11 kills, while
Cassandra Moeller provided a spark off the bench with a career night. "It was a little nerve-wracking at first—definitely felt that rush of adrenaline," Cassie said. "My main goal was just to come in, swing, be aggressive, and not worry about mistakes. I've been working on hitting the edges of the block in practice, and that's been working well for me, so I stuck with that game plan."
On the defensive side, freshman middle blocker
Judith Bolomboy led the net presence with two solo blocks and two assists. "Even though Judie didn't come away with any kills today, she was leading that front in the block," Haruguchi said. "She's just a really stable blocker, and we've come to depend on her in that role quite a bit. She never falters at the net, and we've got to find her a little bit more offensively, but both of our middles—her and
Quincey McCoy—do such a nice job of establishing our block."
In the back row, freshman Olivia continued to impress with her quickness and versatility. "She is lightning fast," Haruguchi said. "We're giving her more structure within our defense so she can read and react at her best. She's really done a nice job, especially with the dual role she's playing—starting in the libero jersey and then shifting into the 5-1 when needed."
Looking ahead to next week's trip through Montana, Cassie said the team's focus remains steady: "Edges of the block, stay aggressive, calm on serve-receive. I think we just need to stay aggressive and stay together as a team—stay consistent and play our game."
Up Next
Eastern will hit the road as they take on Montana State and Montana on Thursday, Nov. 13 and Saturday, Nov. 15.
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ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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